n

n

nCole bent his head, barely dodging Silva's sudden attack. He moved with swiftness but Silva was no less slow than him. Topper, Mags and Fatty tried to join the fray and had her surrounded. Cole, however, snapped at the three.

"I'll take her on by myself!

"

nHe made the roots beneath Silva creep up, but Silva's palm glowed and the creeping roots stopped. She dashed to Cole and thrust with such killing intent that even Emery could also feel a chill up his spine every time she attacked. Still, Cole managed to dodge every single one of them.

nThe two were on equal skill in terms of using the sword and the spear. No one had an advantage over the other.

nCole used another spell and made spikes out of the vines from the ground.

"Vine spike!

"

nSilva jumped out of the way, dodging every protruding sharp spikes. She readied her stance and waited for Cole to make his next move.

nCole, on the other hand, got out of his stance as he squinted his eyes and stared at her uniform.

"You're a first year, aren't you?

"

n

"So what if I am?

" Silva replied, her eyes keeping track of Cole, Topper, Mags, Fatty and Emery's positions.

n

"I won't ask again, you know you can't win against me. Now hand over the beast corpse or I'll turn you into a snake wine,

" Cole said, his voice rough.

nSilva slightly stepped back as Cole moved closer in front of her, Topper and Mags on the side, while Fatty behind her. She still had her guard up and said,

"Okay. I'm willing to trade it for you. Give me two four-leaf moon clovers in return.

"

n

"Bitch, I don't think you understand your situation. Leave it there and you'll get to keep your life,

" Cole said, making his spear glow with green light.

n

n

"One plant in exchange for my service of killing it. That's my final offer. Sounds like an equal trade, yes?

" Silva said, her tone as cold as ice.

nThe other four looked at each other. They seem to be considering the offer Silva made. Emery, however, had a different hunch. He noticed her grip on the sword tightened and her foot shifted at an odd angle.

nHe asked himself what he would do if he got surrounded and realized what was about to happen. Emery picked up his sword from the ground and searched his bag for whatever thing he could get a hold off. It was at that moment though that his prediction came to life.

nSilva slammed the earth and spikes also sprang from the ground where the four were standing. As the four people jumped back, she shot forward toward Emery.

nEmery knew he was the weakest link and to get out of an encirclement, targeting the vulnerable spot was the most sensible thing to do. He was ready though and fished out the bread-like food he hadn't eaten, which was as hard as a stone, and threw it at Silva. Silva easily deflected it, however, he wasn't done. Emery charged forward to meet her sword and the instance the sword sparked from the clash, he knew he wouldn't be able to match her strength, so he let it go at the last moment; then tackled the surprised Silva down.

nEmery snatched her wrists, placed all his weight on her and buried his face on her chest. He shouted, voice muffled,

"Hurry!

"

nShe thrashed around but Emery kept pushing her. He couldn't see it but her face was turning red as she said,

"Get off me, y-y-you pervert!

"

n

"Entangle!

" Cole issued his spell and the roots tightly wrapped around the two.

n

"H-hey! What are you doing?

" Emery questioned Cole as he felt the roots circling his skin along with Silva.

n

n

"Shut it! Stop talking!

" Silva made every effort she could but the roots had finally tied the two of them. She was unable to cast her spell in such conditions.

nEmery moved his head trying to get out of Silva's chest and travelled above. His and her face were only an inch away from each other. Silva turned her head away, but Emery could still feel the slight heat radiating off from her cheeks and breath.

nCole ignored Emery's remarks and pointed his spear to Silva just above Emery's head. She didn't respond so Cole moved the spear close to her forehead.

n

"Can you please just give the guy what he wants so we can get out of this situation?

" Emery said.

nSilva clicked her tongue before having the angler vine's corpse appear.

nCole then used his ring to store the dead beast. He added,

"Now hand over your moon clovers as well.

"

n

"I don't have any on me,

" Silva said.

n

"So, you still dare lie to my face, you bitchy snake,

" Cole said as he grabbed her hand that had her ring.

n

"Let me go or I will—

"

n

nCole slapped her before she even finished her words.

"You will what? What can you do right now?

" Cole said with a dark grin, loosening the roots near Silva's hand. He then pointed the spear to her index finger and added,

"I'm going to give you a choice, either you relinquish your ownership of the ring or I'll cut you pretty little fingers one by one like the snake you are.

"

n

"Wait, aren't you going a little too far?

" Emery said. He could feel Silva's body shaking and her heart beating against his chest.

nSilva hissed,

"Try me, you purist! I'll have you hanged for this!

"

n

"Is that so? Then, so be it.

" Cole raised his spear and thrust down. Emery tried to shake themselves but the roots were too big that they were unable to dodge fast enough.

nThe spear grazed right next to his neck. It missed but somehow Emery and Silva was able to roll on the ground.

n

"Hahaha! Of course I'm not serious! I'm not stupid enough to be punished by the academy for such a lowly half-breed,

" Cole said, pulling back his spear.

n

"Asshole! Let me go now!

" Silva shouted at the top of her lungs whilst trying to break away from the roots that tied them.

nEmery was now at the bottom while Silva was on top. Their eyes met when Emery noticed a lightning flashed in the clear night sky, lit by the golden moon. A loud boom soon followed then a domineering voice resounded in their minds, giving chills to all acolytes in the swamp.

n